Documents needed
If you are offered an appointment you will be
asked for evidence of your homelessness. This could be a
letter from the person(s) you have been staying with,
a possession order,a notice to quit etc. If you are not able
to obtain proof we may make contact with the person(s) who have
asked you to leave. If you are not already on the housing
register, we will ask you for details and documents relating
to your family household, address etc.
The interview
One of our officers will discuss your housing situation and the
possible options available to you. They will want to know details
such as, why are you being asked to leave your current address; do
you have anywhere else you can live? They will try and assist
you with any benefits or arrears issues you have, give you
landlord/tenant advice, negotiate with your landlord and look into
how you can access alternative accommodation if necessary.
The officer who interviews you will become your caseworker and
will do everything they can to try and prevent you becoming
homeless where possible. They will assess you under the
Homelessness Act 2002 and make a decision on whether we have a duty
to offer temporary accommodation and/or permanent housing. When you
approach us as homeless one of our officers will assess your
application under the Homeless
Act 2002. The Homelessness Act sets out guidelines about who
may be eligible for assistance. Our officer has to make a decision
using the information that you give them during the homelessness
interview.
Five steps of assessment
The five steps below are a simplified outline of a very in depth
process of assessment.
Are you eligible for assistance?
(the same criteria is used as for the Eligibility for the
Housing register)
Are you in priority need?
- 16 or 17 years old
- Pregnant women
- A person with dependant children
- Homeless due to emergency such as fire, flood or other
disaster
- Vulnerable due to old age, mental/physical disability
- Some people who have left care or have spent time in care
- Vulnerable due to a custodial sentence
- Vulnerable due to time spent in the Armed Forces
- Fleeing violence
Are you intentionally homeless?
One of our officers will look at whether you are homeless due to
your own actions, they will look at :
- What accommodation have you left?
- Did you lose the accommodation due to something you did?
- Was the accommodation settled?
- Was the accommodation suitable?
Have you got a local connection to Peterborough?
- Lived in Peterborough for 6 out of the last 12 months
- Lived in Peterborough for 3 out of the last 5 years
- Close family relatives in Peterborough
- Employment
- Risk of violence if referred back to area which you hold a
local connection with
- No local connection to any other area of the UK
Once this assessment is complete your caseworker will advise you
how we can help (you will be notified of this decision in writing).
If at any point of your homelessness application, you disagree with
any decision your caseworker makes, you have the right to request a
review of that decision.
Rough Sleepers
We currently have a team who work with rough sleepers in the
city. The aim of this team is to break the cycle of habitual rough
sleeping and encourage service users to engage with various support
agencies to get them off the street and into sustainable
accommodation.
If you are aware of someone rough sleeping please notify us
using the link to the rough sleeper referral form.
Severe Weather Emergency Provision (SWEP)
Good practice guidance from the Department for Communities &
Local Governement recommends that local authorities has emergency
provisions in place to prevent loss of life of rough sleepers
in severe weather conditions.
We work with local charities to ensure that shelter is available
to all known rough sleepers in the city when it is forecast that
the overnight temperature will be zero
celsius or below for three consecutive nights.